Well, the title says it all. I know it should create the GUI and render polygons, but that''s way too simple. I''m using C if that helps at all. Any help is appreciated.

The engine makes the game run. You make all of the data (eg. sounds, objects, levels) and the engine provides all the functionality to run the game using the data. The most basic engine for a game should include:
- rendering system
- input system
- game rules and state (or physics)
- data loading/managment

The fundamentals of a game look like this:

(Probably a GUI menu here)
Load Data
LOOP {
Get input (eg. keyboard keys)
Use input and game rules to change game state
Render game state
}

Other stuff you can include are usually just extensions of these basic things. eg. sound is like the rendering system, ai is like the game rules sytem.

Hope that helps,
Frank

Thanks for the fundamentals, Frank, but where are the complexities that an engine should perform? I know there have to be some. Thanks for any help.

What do you mean complexities? There''s quite a lot to physics and ai etc. Not even data loading and stuff is always simple.

What are these "rules" that are called physics? I want to be able to create an engine that''s capable of almost everything (like EQ). I just don''t know where to start. *sigh*

You can get far more useful suggestions if u provdie more details about what ur trying to do. like what kind of game ur trying to make.

In order for it to do "everything" (which, unless you're a gifted genius who can far surpass our "average" human thought process, is extremely difficult. I won't say impossible, because I like to think that somehow nothing is impossible :-), anyway...) you have to look at what kind of games you're going to be writing the engine for:
- Is it for (MMO)RPGs?
- Is it for First Person Shooters?
- Is it for a platformer?
- Is it for action adventure games? (a la Zelda)
(Is it bigger that a breadbox...)
When you decide this (and this is just my opinion) you should spec out a design document of all the cool features you think have to be in the engine. For example, if it's an RPG, it has to include some sort of battle system, if it a platformer, it has to have some minimal set of real physics, etc...
Then you can add all the features that make your engine "extra special"! For example, you could add a feature to allow for realistic weather. This is just a suggestion, but I think you get my point. You can't just ask "What should my engine be able to do?" and expect us to give you a realistic answer. It's like asking "What should a novel be about?" or similarily "What is in a great piece of music?" Engine design is sort of an art, and the components that go into it and the features it supports are those that you feel are necessary for the target games you want to use it for. (Just as a novel or a piece of music contain a plot or melody based on the individual purpose of their respective creations)

Did that seem to help a little?


Edited by - Xelius on January 24, 2001 10:33:03 PM

I won''t say impossible, because I like to think that somehow nothing is impossible :-),

If nothing is impossible, than it is possible for something to be impossible.
:D

You just put the OS into an infinite loop...

The Shaz



"I don''t want to be a pie... I don''t like gravy." - Babbs, Chicken Run

SuperNova Games

Why does everyone want to create an all-singing all-dancing "engine" these days? Remember the days when people wanted to write "games"?!